But while that particular shirt’s design is laid-back, it’s caused some stress for the team. A photo of Grellner wearing the Floridian packed with ice and a couple of beers landed on Reddit and humor site The Chive.

“Orders were flying in and we didn’t know where they were coming from,” Kehlenbeck says, initially wondering if the influx of orders was a prank.

“Later that day we learned [the shirt was] on the Chive, and Alex had to call out of work the next morning to help ship all the shirts.”

Image from BucketTees.com

They’ve handled a few big order rushes since then, but they’ve also streamlined their shipping process.

Bucket Tees routinely sees sales as high as 50 shirts per day (for $25.95 each), but don’t assume the trio is living a startup life of leisure. Alfaro recently left his full-time job to focus on the company with Kehlenbeck, and Grellner still has a full-time job.

“When I started this, I thought I would be making money,” Kehlenbeck admits.

“That’s not the case yet. The company makes money, but every time we sell out of shirts, we have to reinvest to make more shirts.”

Image from BucketTees.com

And while the three have done their fair share of research, there are still surprises along the way.

“Planning ahead is the biggest challenge,” Kehlenbeck says. “We thought we would sell twice as many mediums, but extra-large is our second most popular size (after larges).”

Large Floridian styles sold out the day of the Chive feature, and again before Christmas. Selling out means answering lots of emails from anxious customers, “And calling manufacturers, like, let’s get this on the move!” Kehlenbeck laughs.

Lessons from a Lean Startup

Kehlenbeck says the trio will try to run the business lean as long as they can.

Girlfriends and cousins have been excellent salespeople at in-person events in Florida, and we suspect mom would be willing to lend a hand — so long as she doesn’t have to sew any more shirts.

“That’ll be a good day when we need to hire somebody,” Kehlenbeck says, anticipating a shipping assistant will be their first role to fill.

Starting small has helped them stay sane.

“Before we started thinking about starting a business it seemed overwhelming,” Kehlenbeck says. “But we started really simple, with three designs. With that simple idea, we made a few sales and built up on that to get to where we are.”